April 2, 1942
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

THURSDAY, 2 APRIL 1942

(10th Air Force): In the early evening,  a B-17 mission scheduled against the Rangoon area is aborted when B-17E pilot Parsel crashed on take off and another B-17s mechanical trouble, and the entire mission was aborted. During the night of April 2, Major General Lewis H. Brereton, Commanding Office (C.O.) 10th Air Force (10th AF), leads three B-17's on a bombing mission against Japanese shipping off Andaman Islands. They claim hits on 1 cruiser and a transport; two B-17's are damaged by AA and fighters, but all return safely.

USN: USS Enterprise (CV-6) off Oahu launches nine SBDs on a training flight off. During a side over maneuver, SBD Dauntless 2136 (pilot rescued, passenger missing) collides with SBD Dauntless 2165 (pilot rescued, passenger missing).